The Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding

The Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding Measure your strength.

We stand at an important crossroads in rehabilitation. The urgent need to demonstrate and justify the value and effectiveness of our care now intersects with technological innovations that enable us to understand and use clinical data as never before. We have an unprecedented opportunity to harness the power of these advances to draw valuable information from peoples’ real-world experiences and, in turn, shape the delivery of rehabilitation care. The goal of the Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding (ROCS) is to ensure we act on this opportunity, together.

What is Outcomes Research?

Outcomes research seeks to understand the end results—or outcomes— of healthcare practices or interventions so we can make more informed decisions and improve care. The strength of outcomes research stems from a focus on real-world data instead of controlled trials. By studying healthcare systems in action, we capture a more comprehensive picture of the many factors that play a role over the course of a person’s recovery.

This information can help clinicians make more informed diagnoses and treatment decisions, compare effectiveness of different therapies, and ensure health equity among diverse populations.

Advances in artificial intelligence, deep learning, and data analytics now offer us a chance to address the many different variables and perspectives in outcomes research in manageable and meaningful ways. By embracing the ability of sophisticated computer systems and innovative software platforms to extract, analyze, and process extremely large sets of data, we can now uncover patterns, trends, and associations in clinical outcomes more efficiently and effectively.

“We should be thinking about rehabilitation research from a perspective that is something larger than just a diagnosis. We need to break down siloes among diagnostic groups and develop a standardized research engine that will drive innovation and transform care.”

—Dr. Joseph Giacino, ROCS Co-Director

Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding (ROCS) The use of technological innovations in data analysis and management are not yet a part of mainstream rehabilitation care. Despite widespread acknowledgement that collecting and using outcomes data is beneficial, this goal is difficult to achieve. Successful implementation requires developing sound measures and incorporating the perspectives of many—and equally important—groups, including patients, providers, administrators, and payors. Each of these interested parties can have differing experiences and conflicting preferences on goals of care such as quality of life, level of function, and cost-effectiveness.

The goal of the Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding (ROCS) is to advance and promote the use of datadriven methods. While other research centers and programs focus on a specific diagnosis, ROCS is working across all the populations we serve in rehabilitation: the disability community, the aging population, and people managing chronic conditions. Through innovative approaches like adopting a “Learning Health System” model and establishing a Rehabilitation Outcomes Core, ROCS will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and rigorous use of standardized outcomes metrics throughout the Spaulding network and across the Mass General Brigham system.

Learning Health System Harnessing the power of electronic medical records to capture and analyze large amounts of health data, Learning Health System (LHS) organizations aim to integrate both real-world health experience and external evidence into research to inform decision making and clinical practice. In the LHS model, data specialists analyze routine clinical interactions to uncover patterns and insights that can be used to guide more effective care. The ROCS team has begun the LHS journey by developing expertise in electronic health record data sources and identifying opportunities for standardizing data collection. As a result of these ROCS-led efforts, Spaulding recently became a “hub partner” of the Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network (LeaRRn), a national, multi-institutional organization that provides collaborative learning and funding opportunities.

Rehabilitation Outcomes Core In academic medicine, “core facilities” are centralized consulting services that provide access to the specialized expertise, sophisticated methodologies, and state-of-the-art equipment crucial to the promotion of research. Mass General Brigham is home to more than 150 core facilities, but none devoted to rehabilitation outcomes research. ROCS aims to establish a Rehabilitation Outcomes Core based at Spaulding to share knowledge about developing and implementing outcomes measures specific to post-acute care along with guidelines for selecting measures for use in different contexts.

The Core will seek to foster system-wide collaboration and efficient use of resources and will be a vehicle for contributing our expertise to support like-minded research efforts.

Supporting ROCS to Support Better Outcomes ROCS was launched with philanthropy through a generous lead gift from Karen Maloney and Robert Carpenter, and we will continue to look to donor support to propel the work of the Center forward in three strategic areas of focus: people, projects, and promotion. With your generosity, we will advance and sustain our team of rehabilitation experts; lead and cultivate groundbreaking science, and publicize and disseminate new knowledge and achievements to ultimately improve the quality of rehabilitation care.

Building a Strong Team People are the foundation of ROCS. With philanthropic support, we can offer our experts the essential protected time to solidify the foundation of this burgeoning academic center—from designing pioneering projects, to building system-wide partnerships, to consulting on methods and systems, to training the next generation of leaders in outcomes science. Funding would also allow us to recruit critical professionals—including statisticians, data analysts, and project managers—to advance our data-driven pursuits.

Making Research Stronger As the healthcare industry evolves, our goal is to continually propel rehabilitation science forward using the latest tools and methodologies.

ROCS was established to serve as a resource for exploring novel datadriven research in rehabilitation, and we have already begun to build pilot projects in specific disease areas based on our team’s Model System experience. Philanthropic support will enable us to pursue contextual studies that focus on the real-world priorities of the people we serve and to create training opportunities for the next generation of leaders in outcomes research.

Sharing Our Strengths We believe that breaking down communication barriers is key to improving health outcomes. With the support of philanthropy, we aim to employ a variety of approaches—such as an annual conference, a rehabilitation podcast, and a dedicated microsite—to disseminate important findings and make critical connections among our many key groups, including patients, clinicians, researchers, consumers, policymakers, payors, and community organizations.

“With rehabilitation outcomes research, we have an incredible opportunity to influence systems and policies with scientifically validated, realworld data and be responsive to the priorities that matter most to our patients and communities.”

—Dr. Jeffrey Schneider, ROCS Co-Director

ROCS Leadership Jeffrey Schneider, MD Co-Director

Joseph Giacino, PhD Co-Director

Lewis Kazis, ScD Director of Research

Dan Daneshvar, MD, PhD Director of Research Training

Mary Slavin, PT, PhD Director of Dissemination

Shonali Gaudino, OT Administrative Director

Learn more: www.spauldingrehab.org/ outcomescenter

Support ROCS to Support Better Rehabilitation Outcomes Funding Opportunities Naming Opportunity: Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding $10 million to endow A generous endowment to name ROCS would ensure the future of this center and its critical role in shaping the delivery of rehabilitation care for patients at Spaulding and beyond.

Building a Strong Team The greatest strength of ROCS is the knowledge, expertise, and skill of its people.

Directors Discretionary Fund $250,000 annually or $5 million to endow Philanthropic support for our talented Directors Team would enable them to focus on their vital work to improve rehabilitation outcomes across all conditions and treatments through research, training, advocacy, and dissemination.

Data Scientist $200,000 annually or $4 million to endow Outcomes research is only as strong as the clinical data on which it is based. The addition of a data scientist on the team would provide dedicated expertise on the mining, extraction, visualization, and application of data, which is at the heart of outcomes research.

Project Manager $150,000 annually or $3 million to endow As the many activities of ROCS grow and expand, the addition of a project manager will offer the team day-to-day, on-the-ground organizational and executional support, facilitating operational excellence and enabling the directors to focus on the vision and strategy of the center.

ROCS_Funding_05/23

Continued

Making Research Stronger As the field rehabilitation evolves, the goal of ROCS is to continually propel outcomes research forward through innovation and training.

ROCS Fellowship Fund $150,000 annually or $3 million to endow With philanthropy to build on our world-renowned residency and fellowship programs, ROCS would be able to provide mentoring and guidance in the areas of precision rehabilitation, big data analytics, and value-based outcomes, and even ultimately establish a ROCS fellowship dedicated to training the best and the brightest in rehabilitation outcomes.

Pilot Grant Program $125,000 annually or $2.5 million to endow Conventional funding sources are typically less likely to support progressive multidisciplinary science and rehabilitation research in general. Philanthropy will enable ROCS to provide seed grants for pilot studies with breakthrough potential.

Sharing Our Strengths Communication through a variety of outlets will be key to our success, helping to promote understanding, teamwork, and activism among our many stakeholders in this burgeoning field.

Finding Strength Podcast $100,000 annually Recently, Spaulding launched a monthly podcast to bring together voices in the rehabilitation community and showcase the research conducted in the Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding. Philanthropy will enable us to enhance and promote this easily accessible and broadly impactful addition to our communications toolbox.

ROCS Conference and Education Fund $50,000 annually We envision creating forums, including an annual conference, for the many participants across the rehabilitation and disability communities to gather and share outcomes knowledge and experiences that transcend diagnoses.

Philanthropic support would go toward administrative and planning expenses, materials and publications, travel for speakers, and grants and awards.

Thank you for your interest in the Rehabilitation Outcomes Center at Spaulding.

For more information on supporting our meaningful efforts, please contact John C. MacRae at 617-306-2394 or jcmacrae@mgb.org.

We are grateful for your consideration.